PITTSBURGH, PA – The University of North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels made that journey to a chilly Pennsylvania to take on the Pitt Panthers at Heinz Field. While UNC has led the series against Pitt (10-3 prior to tonight’s game), the Tar Heels were unable to clinch this victory, losing 34-27 to the Panthers in overtime.
The game started with Pitt winning the toss and choosing to defer. While UNC was able to gain 20 yards with quarterback Sam Howell (7) completing several passes, they weren’t able to earn a first down and were forced to punt. Pitt quickly moved the ball into scoring territory but UNC held them to a field goal completed by Alex Kessman (97) putting the Panthers ahead 3-0. The Tar Heels quickly responded; however, with Howell completing a 21-yard pass to Beau Corrales (15) for a UNC touchdown and a 3-7 lead over Pitt.
There was tension on the field from the very beginning but the 2nd quarter just increased that for both teams. Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) completed a 27-yard pass to Shocky Jacques-Louis (18) for a touchdown. Pitt fans were going wild until referees announced the touchdown catch was under review. After several minutes, the referee announced that the ball was in fact rolling on the ground and Jacques-Louis did not have control, overturning the touchdown. It didn’t take long for Pickett to eventually rush to the endzone and snag the touchdown himself, putting Pitt in the lead 10-7 over UNC.
UNC attempted to answer back but ended up losing yards and had to punt. Pickett once again showed what a dynamic quarterback he is by launching a 74-yard pass to Jacques-Louis for another Panther touchdown to increase the lead 17-7. UNC’s Antonio Williams (24) rushed 59-yards on the next drive to put the Tar Heels in scoring territory. Howell was unable to find anyone in the endzone with pressure from Pitt but Noah Ruggles (97) did hit a 25-yard field goal to keep UNC in the game.
The Tar Heels struggled on defense, earning two personal fouls for late hit and roughing the passer, inching Pitt even closer to another touchdown. UNC stepped it up and kept Pitt out of the endzone, giving the Panthers no other option than to try for a field goal. Keeman stepped up but missed the 26-yard attempt, sending the ball wide right. Howell and the Tar Heels were putting in work on their next drive when Howell launched a ball intended for Newsome who was greeted by the helmet to helmet contact from Pitt’s Demar Hamlin (3). After a review, targeting was confirmed and Hamlin was ejected from the game. This seemed to hype the Panthers up even more and Damarri Mathis (21) quickly intercepted Howell’s next pass.
Both teams were able to hold each other during most of the 3rd quarter until Pitt finally found the end zone with A.J. Davis (21) rushing for 8-yards to put the Panthers up 24-10 at 2:12. The Tar Heels were unable to answer back and went into the 4th quarter trailing.
The 4th quarter is where things got intense. UNC quickly put up 7 points with Howell completing a pass to Dyami Brown (8). Pitt actually lost yards on their next drive which the Tar Heels quickly capitalized on. Howell hit Dazz Newsome (5) with a 34-yard pass to tie the game 24-24. Pitt fought hard on their next drive but had to settle for a field goal. This could have been the Tar Heels opportunity to put it away but they just couldn’t tie it all together and also had to settle for 3 points with just 13 seconds remaining in the game.
Nail biters have seemed to be a bit of a Tar Heel football specialty this season, as a majority of their games have come down to the final minutes. UNC won the overtime toss but chose to defer which wasn’t helpful for them. Pitt quickly put up 7 points with a touchdown from Pickett. The Tar Heels pushed hard but just weren’t able to make it happen. Despite being sacked 5 times, Howell was persistent and clearly wasn’t going down without a fight.
In a post-game press conference, Pitt head coach, Pat Narduzzi, gave credit to “the big man upstairs” for the Panthers playing hard against a good Tar Heel football team and pulling off a big win for his team.
Pitt advances to 4-2 in the ACC, 7-3 overall, while UNC falls to 3-4 in the ACC, 4-6 overall. Pitt will travel to Virginia Tech for their next conference matchup on November 23rd while the Tar Heels will host Mercer in Chapel Hill, NC.
Written by Kiley Compton
